Istanbul's Secret Calm

My friends have come to Turkey! This week I was ecstatic to have two of my very best friends visit me over on this side of the world. Thankfully, I have been extremely busy, caught in a whirlwind of merriment and laughter. Absolutely no complains. But for my readers, I have been woefully unproductive. Though I  can promise a flurry of lusciously exciting blogs coming up, I thought I would share my very favorite thing in Istanbul.

Though Istanbul is full of eateries, clubs, river-side strolls, throngs of people and shopping galore, my very part/time/place in Istanbul is all the same. In my opinion, the city is at its finest on Sunday morning before 8:30am. Every weekend, though sleeping in is oh-so-tempting, I can't help but rise to meet the dawn, along with the early-rising fishermen along the wharf. The mornings are always gloriously bright, when reflective specks shine off the water, where on the cold wooden bench, I sit mesmerized watching the lull and pull of the fishermen, reeling in their catch and calmly biding their time for that perfect moment. All is quiet, all is still.  

There is something magical in that time. At 8:00am on a Sunday morning, Istanbul is perfect. There are no cars. There are no people. Only beauty, the Bosphorus Sea lapping gently against the docks, and a morning sun to greet the very best day of the week. That, plus a steaming hot coffee. There is no better combination. Sitting in Beyoglu, my favorite spot, adjacent to the Karakoy ferry stop by the base of Galata Tower, life is sweet. Istanbul is my favorite city in the world- full of rolling hills, art galleries, stunningly unique districts, museums, people and history- there is no city in the world quite like it. But, your trip to Istanbul is certainly incomplete without an early morning spent by the seaside. It is precious time, and the only time you will ever see the city sleeping...

Good Morning Istanbul 

by the Karakoy ferry 

Watching the fishermen start the day